But perma-death makes the stakes feel real. Instead, it’s a game that feels less tense and more grindy. Darkest Dungeon II never quite makes me feel the same way. It could be argued that the permadeath mechanic was all window dressing, but it was enough for me to feel an investment in these (ultimately doomed) characters. In the sequel,death is just an inconvenience, and dead characters come back when you start a new run.

Darkest Dungeon was known for its ruthless difficulty, and perma-death: when your character died, they were dead.

While Darkest Dungeon II does a great job with its atmosphere, developer Red Hook made changes that took away the sense of danger, something its predecessor did so well.ĭarkest Dungeon II is a roguelite game where you travel across a monster infested landscape in the hopes of thwarting the apocalypse that began in the first game. Darkest Dungeon wasn’t unique, but it excelled in creating its sense of grim dread and kept me pushing through constant defeat. Darkest Dungeon was a darling when it was released seven years ago.

Darkest dungeon 2 2018